Discovering new music is never-ending. I am not only seeking out new artists, but recordings of live performances from bands that have been around for decades. Everyone has their sources for finding new music. For many it’s the (current) big players in the market - Spotify and Pandora. Not me. They don’t satisfy my craving for new music and don’t provide the user experience I am seeking. Here is a rundown of the sites, apps, and stations that bring pleasure to my ears on a weekly, if not daily basis.

ex.fm
I’ve been a fan of ex.fm since the beginning and continue to be one. Besides the fact that the team behind it are really good people, it is my favorite service for discovering new music. I listen to ex.fm every day during the week. If you are new to ex.fm, the simplest way to get started is to listen to the music that the ex.fm team highlights each week in the Explore section. If you really want to reap the benefits of ex.fm, follow others. For me, music is the number one reason why I might follow someone on any social network. If our music tastes are similar and, better yet, you are introducing me to new music, I will follow. There are several people/blogs I’ve followed on Tumblr for a long time that have active ex.fm accounts, which made it really easy for me to adopt ex.fm as my number one source for new music. It’s ironic that I rarely listen to music through the Tumblr dashboard now because my favorite music bloggers on Tumblr are also on ex.fm. Once you start following others, you have access to a never-ending feed of music that has been “loved” by those accounts that you follow. It’s music curation at it’s best. I can’t not mention the iPhone app when sharing ex.fm. The interface, experience, and functionality is as good as any other music app I’ve tried.

Soundcloud
I consider myself a bit late to the game when it comes to Soundcloud. When the Beastie Boys premiered Hot Sauce Committee Part 2 last year on the service, I started to pay more attention and follow more artists and accounts. I never (and still don’t) get into the whole “home recording” aspect of the Soundcloud model. I frankly don’t have an interest listening to random sounds or conversations by others because they typically just aren’t that good. But, when more and more artists started using it, I got hooked. Add to that the many podcasts on Soundcloud, and it really is a wonderful source of new content. My only complaint is that I still struggle a bit in finding new accounts to follow. Hopefully this is addressed with the next soundcloud.

WNRN
Is that a radio station on my list? Yes, it is. WNRN is a commercial free radio station operating out of Charlottesville whose signal can be heard all across Central Virginia. It is the best radio station I’ve ever listened to because it provides more variety than any other station I’ve ever listened to. You can’t label WNRN. Weekday mornings are reserved for acoustic music ranging from bluegrass to country to indie to classic rock. Saturday mornings are reserved for the jambands. Three hours of the Dead, Phish, and many others. WNRN turns into a talk radio station on Sunday mornings with discussions on local issues. Rap and Hip-Hop rule the airwaves every night, and there is even a weekly show for 80s (and now 90s) music.

Live Phish iPhone app
The Live Phish iPhone app doesn’t provide anything out of the box when it comes to features, functionality, and experience. It could have been released to match the features of the website, which is a place to purchase and download live Phish shows. It provides that and a lot more. Hours after each show, I can fire up the app and stream last night’s show free of charge. There are archival releases available for streaming, which change on a regular basis, and I can stream all of the shows I’ve purchased for download.

Live Music Archive
Every live music junkie knows about the Live Music Archive. If you don’t, go check it out. See you in a few weeks.

Soundaboard
Soundaboard is a blog I found a while back. It’s a great source for live SBD recordings from a variety of artists. I really need to spend more time listening to their picks. The ones I have download are outstanding.

Friends
Like every other music junkie, I have a circle of friends that share the same passion for music that I do. We don’t share playlists in rdio or Spotify. We don’t get on turntable.fm. We still send around links via email. Often times my friends are the best source for new music. I doubt this will ever change.